Laura Jewell Biography

Laura Jewell’s work has been described as “Serene and enchanting like a quiet night, when you can hear the nature grow.” This seems fitting when you hear how Jewell describes her upbringing in the small rural town of Holton, Kansas. Born in the 1980’s she spent most of her time exploring the family’s eighty acres of farmland with small creek and pond. She explains “There was plenty of time to appreciate the minutia of the life and land surrounding me.” During this time having always been encouraged in her art interests, Jewell recounts the art influences that started her on this artistic path. “My earliest memories of art were the watercolor paintings hanging in my Grandparent’s home one of which was painted by my great-grandmother and several others by my Grandfather. I can also remember asking my grandfather to draw for me; I’d name something and he would start sketching. I believe this is when I first became interested in what I just considered ‘drawing’ at the time, which grew into a yearning to study as many techniques and processes in high school and college as possible and since then has developed into a passion for art.”

In 2007 Laura Jewell moved from Kansas to South Dakota where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of South Dakota with a focus in printmaking. Jewell also credits a few very inspirational and encouraging professors from this time as having affected her love of art and the creative process. Preferring the intaglio method of printmaking and no longer having easy access to a capable press after graduation, Jewell found a creative outlet in oil paint. She began experimenting with oil on cradled boards and working to achieve an equivalent in paint to the atmospheric plate surface she obtained in her intaglio monoprints and monotypes. She found board to be her preferred substrate enjoying the smooth surface that allows for more movement and freedom in the materials. Now beginning to working in encaustic as well Jewell has found a medium that allows her to mix some of her favorite aspects of printmaking and oil painting.

The subject matter that artist Laura Jewell is most drawn to is what she considers abstract landscape. Sometimes the work is inspired by grand scale vistas, and in others a very minute aspect of the landscape may be what prompts her to create the artwork. “Travel inspires me, seeing landscapes that are new to me. These places tend to find their way into my paintings in groups or series influenced by the location, but the familiar landscapes of the Midwest are like old friends to me and generally reappear often when you look at my entire body of work.” Jewell has developed a style that is loose and fluid with movement that imbibes a calm and tranquil quality. The style, as well as the sensed familiarity of these places that Jewell speaks of is what draws collectors to her work. Amy Jarding of JAM Art & Supplies once interviewed Jewell and said the following. “Laura Jewell recognizes the importance of knowing your home, and understanding your roots. Laura is the kind of person that makes you want to close your eyes and smile. She has a captivating, almost magical quality to her that is effortlessly translated into her artwork.”

Still having a relatively young art career which she consciously began to pursue while finishing her Art education in 2012, Jewell has focused on producing quality work and has collectors across the Midwest, Plains and Western regions of the country and also in Australia and Canada. In the last couple years Jewell has participated in a select few of the country’s top art festivals. The very first show she was accepted to was the Cherry Creek Art Festival in Denver, Colorado as an “Emerging Artist” in 2015. She has also been fortunate to garner the support of her state’s Arts Council when she received the “Artist Career Development” grant for 2016.

Laura Jewell currently lives in Sioux Falls, SD where she is able to enjoy time in her studio each day. Often gathering inspiration, references and sketched ideas in the summer and then settling down and taking advantage of the long South Dakota winters to reflect and express her thoughts through art.